A bright blue indigo bunting perched on a grass stem. — Photo: Dan Pancamo, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

A small, brilliant-blue songbird of fields and roadsides that migrates at night by the stars.

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About the Indigo Bunting

Indigo buntings are 4.5 to 5.9 inches long and weigh about half an ounce. Breeding males are bright jewel-blue. They live in fields, pastures and woodland edges and often nest near roadsides, power lines and train tracks. They spend summer in the eastern and Midwestern United States and winter in the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America. They eat insects, seeds and berries.^[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name: Passerina cyanea^[1]
Size: 4.5 to 5.9 inches long.^[1]
Weight: About half an ounce.^[1]
Lifespan: Usually 2 to 3 years; up to 10.^[1]
Diet: Insects, seeds and berries.^[1]
Habitat: Fields, pastures, rural areas and woodland edges.^[1]
Where it lives: Summers in the eastern and Midwestern U.S.; winters in the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America.^[1]
Group life: Males defend territories. Active by day.^[1]
Babies: 1 to 4 eggs, incubated for about two weeks.^[1]
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2018).^[2]

Fun facts

Indigo buntings use the stars to find their way when migrating.^[1]
They often nest near roads, power lines and train tracks.^[1]
Young males learn their songs from other birds.^[1]

Vocabulary

songbird: A perching bird that can sing; songbirds make up about half of all bird species.
migrate: To travel from one region to another with the seasons.
navigate: To find the way from one place to another.
territory: An area an animal claims and defends.
least concern: A conservation label meaning a species is widespread and not at risk of dying out soon.

See it in person

Smithsonian's National ZooWashington, D.C. · Bird HouseSee this animal on the zoo's website ↗

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

[1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Indigo bunting.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/indigo-bunting (accessed 2026-10-08)
[2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Passerina cyanea (Indigo Bunting).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22723951/132171198 (accessed 2026-10-08)

Facts last checked 2026-10-08.

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